Balanced Diet: Know More on Healthy and Nutritional Balanced Diet!

In this fast paced world, good nutrition may sound very simple but it is indeed really difficult to practice it. We eat too many processed foods or we tend to miss some meals. Some of us even smoke or drink alcohol. We also choose food on the basis of the taste. This not only make us overeat but also we ignore rich nutrient food items which we feel have bad taste. Foods lose substantial nutritional value during storage. There are many such factors which rob us of the nutrients we need for the maintenance of general well being.

We all talk of balanced diet, but how many of us really know the actual meaning of the balanced diet? Balanced Diet is a diet which has adequate amount of all nutrients required for healthy growth and activity. Sounds simple!

We have divided food into five groups on the basis of their nutrient content which are the most integral part of balanced diet.

Group One :

Wheat, Rice and Cereals. They are major sources of starch, carbohydrates, B-Vitamins and fibre.

Recommended Servings: 6-8 servings daily.

Group Two:

Dairy products. They are major sources of calcium , protein and vitamins (A,B2, B6, B12 and D).

Recommended Servings: 2-4 daily.

Group Three:

Fruits and Vegetables. They are major sources of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and fibre.

Recommended Servings : 4-6 daily.

Group Four:

Meat, Fish, Poultry and Pulses. They are major sources od protein, Vitamin B12 , zinc and iron.

Recommended Servings: 2-3 daily

Group Five:

Fats, Oils and Sugar. They are major source of energy in our body.

Recommended Servings: Should be barely adequate.

Recommended servings of each group daily comprises a balanced. Now does it still look simple? To make it worse, our hectic life schedules make it more difficult for us to achieve this goal. Hence it has become a challenge now. We cant ignore this vital part of our life too. So we should better gear up for it!

Random Tip: Eating fruits increases your immunity against the development of age-related maculopathy and eye diseases.

About the Author: Jasdeep Singh

For http://weightloss-health.com/ your complete and most comprehensive family guide on Health.

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Allergy Approaches through Nutrition

Spring in New York City is a really magical time. Flowers and tree buds bring so much beauty to our coveted parks. I was walking through the park this past week and was really loving the site of all those bright, yellow daffodils! However, I also noticed more than one person sneezing in less than a matter of minutes!

If you happen to be an allergy sufferer, before you run right out and purchase the latest over-the-counter-stop-the-sneezing-pill. Try some of these natural nutrition and lifestyle approaches and keep your body running smooth and clean.

Allergy Approaches ? through Nutrition

Many of us are more than familiar with hay fever''s dominating symptoms this time of year, but what a lot of people don''t know is that it is actually an allergy to proteins in the pollen of trees, grasses and other plants. The pollen in the air increases during blossoming season (just when everything is looking so pretty!)

The immune system is actually designed to recognize that pollen is harmless, but people who suffer from allergies have an over the top reaction when pollen comes in contact with their nose and eyes.

Will being aware of certain foods help ease this suffering? Oh, yes. Here are a few:

1) Reduce Dairy Intake ? especially for allergy sufferers, dairy products can inhibit breathing and increase mucus. Reduce dairy, increase breathing.

2) Cayenne Pepper ? this spice contains an anti-inflammatory substance called capsaicin which helps relieve allergies. Sprinkle liberal amounts of cayenne pepper on your food for a few days and feel the effects!

3) Oregano ? this herb acts as an expectorant and helps clear congestion. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 2 tsp of fresh oregano or 1 tsp of dried oregano. Steep for 10 minutes, strain and drink throughout the day as needed.

4) Horseradish - this condiment has an extreme ability to thin abundant mucus so it can drain from the nasal passages. Eat as much as you can tolerate (yummy on crackers!) or make a tea by combining horseradish, lemon juice and honey. Drink throughout the day.

5) Vitamins E and C ? these two power vitamins help support healthy immune function as well as prevent allergic response. Your best bet for intake increase: (C ) ? citrus fruits, bell peppers, chiles, amaranth, berries, cabbage, parsley, potatoes, sprouts, tomatoes (E) ? nuts, seeds, whole grains, dark green leaves of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, dandelion greens, sprouts, asparagus, cucumbers and spinach.

To your health and success, Heather

Heather Dominick is a Nutrition-Energy Consultant accredited by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners and creator of The Energy Rich Lifestyle Program?. In addition to her nutrition services, she is a motivating and dynamic speaker.

To receive bi-monthly Nutrition and Lifestyle Tips you can (a) subscribe to her free e-Newsletter at http://www.individual-health.net or (b) register for a free teleclass at freeteleclass@individual-health.net', 190, 'Allergy Approaches through Nutrition, Nutrition, Nutrition articles, Nutrition information, about Nutrition, what is Nutrition, Nutrition Information', 'Allergy Approaches through Nutrition plus articles and information on Nutrition

Compulsive Eating Alternative: Learning to Eat With Pleasure

Do you allow pleasure from food? Are your senses throughly engaged as you eat? Do you fuel your aliveness with each meal or eat to deaden and numb out? Do you eat foods that taste good in your mouth and feel good in your physical body - both now and later?

Imagine eating in a manner that is passionate and filled with the pleasure of being alive. What exactly would pleasurable eating look like? It would vary by individual, and perhaps even by meal. But I imagine we can uncover some common themes and prototypes of pleasurable eating. I can think of lots of times pleasure eating would be done standing up: Enjoying an ice cream cone while exploring a new city while on vacation, mingling at a party while eating finger foods, and the pleasure of eating stadium food at sporting events. But let''s narrow down our discussion to your everyday indoor eating experiences. What would "normal" pleasurable eating look like? I''ll write down my vision and then invite yourself to write down yours.

Indoor pleasurable dining would involve sitting down at a table. A table that is attractive, clean of clutter, and arranged for multi-sensory dining experience. Look through any formal dining magazine and you''ll see many examples of elaborate table setting ideas. The tables are set with folded napkins, fancy china, decorative stem ware, and colorful table runners. Imagine treating yourself as an honored guest, deserving of special china, candles, and even some flowers. You sit down for a few minutes to enjoy your food, taking a moment to say grace because you realize how blessed you are to have this abundance in your life. Your eyes widen to accept the visual pleasure of the food. You inhale, bringing the aroma of the food deep into your body. As you eat your food, you chew slowly, swallowing each mouthful before taking the next. The food begins to pleasantly fill you up inside. You stop eating when the sensations become something other than pleasurable.

This is just one idea of how a pleasurable eating experience might look. Take a few minutes and write down your idea of a satisfying eating experience:

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CONSCIOUS RECEPTION OF FOOD
The purpose of this exercise is to learn to be mindful while eating. It is a method to enable us to get back in touch with our bodies. Allow yourself to try this exercise five times in a period of several weeks, and your relationship with food will begin to change.

1. Set aside about 10-20 minutes during which you won''t be interrupted. Make sure to start the experience at a point in your day when you are hungry, but not famished. Utilize this exercise at different meals.

2. Choose a food (or foods) that appeals to you on all levels. A food that is visually appealing. It smells good as you inhale it. It feels good in your mouth. And it feels good in your body. This food may just be something from your forbidden food list. Perhaps it''s bread or ice cream or cake. Then again maybe you''ll choose a wonderfully appetizing casserole or even spinach. What matters is that this is a food you like. Prepare this food and sit down with it in front of you.

3. Close your eyes and take three deep breaths. Let your body relax. Become aware of your thoughts and feelings. See whether you can tune in to the place in your lower belly where your food will land. Notice how empty that place feels.

4. Become aware of you body and notice where you might be holding tension. Notice if you have shallow breathing, a tight belly, a tense back, tight jaws, or elevated shoulders. Breathe into these areas, tune into what you might be feeling there, and gradually allow yourself to relax, knowing you are safe and supported. Place both of your feet on the ground as you prepare to eat.

5. Allow a moment of gratitude for the energy (life) you are about to receive. We deserve all of the good things life has to offer, without having to perform for any of them. We are deserving individuals by our very existence. Remember your place in the cycle of life. Remember that by eating you are giving yourself life. You have this right to have life, to have what you want, to be supported in your life, to receive pleasure, and to be connected to life. Connect with the life of the food you are eating and allow yourself to have a feeling of being grounded, of being connected to the earth, of being strong, vibrant, and stable.

6. Utilize your senses. Before eating, use your sense of vision and smell to "connect" with the food. Take another moment to feel the life in the food.

7. Allow yourself to accept the food. Take this life force into your own body so that it might grow strong and live and help you to fulfill your destiny. Swallow and notice if you can feel your stomach receiving the food? Notice if you want to rush and eat the next bite before you have even finished with this one. Inhibit this habitual response. Knowing that there is enough food, you may come to realize that you don''t need to hold onto to energy or stored body fat. There is enough. You are worthy of having enough. You can let go and relax. Eat your food in freedom. For those of you eating in secret, allow yourself to be seen eating.

8. Eating is a way to extract life sustaining energy from food. When you eat, you process and absorb the forces of nature stored in your food. For example, plants store light through photosynthesis. Eating food releases the energies and nutrients stored in food for your body to absorb. In assimilating your food, you transfer life into your body.

An important part of exploring conscious eating is seeking balance. When you start connecting with food, without making any special effort to change your eating, a process naturally starts to take place. You''ll start to desire foods that are abundant and alive, foods that give you what you really need on the deepest level. You begin to notice that food is more than just mouth pleasure . . . there is also physical body pleasure. You may recognize foods that drain you and better understand what nourishes, satisfies, and supports you. You learn to honor yourself and support your growth by choosing food, food experiences, thoughts, and behaviors that nourish and heal your body.

Copyright 2005, Dr. Annette Colby, all rights reserved.

Dr. Annette Colby, RD
Nutrition Therapist & Master Energy Healer
"Opening Creative Portals to Success"
972.985.8750
Annette@AnnetteColby.com

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Sleep for Joy

Better sleep = better metabolism. I have been saying it for years - since my own experience of being stressed out, overworked and under-slept and not able to lose weight but just recently this fact is getting a good amount of press.

According to Michael Tri H. Do, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute predoctoral fellow from Harvard University, "In recent years, a lot of excitement has accompanied the forging of links between sleep and feeding. For instance, there are neurons that make a substance called orexin. These cells are located in a region of the brain that was long understood to be involved in feeding. Consistent with this, giving rats orexin causes them to eat more, while blocking it causes them to eat very little."

Yikes! This could be enough to put you to sleep right here! He IS right though so let''s bring it down to what we can do about it because the basic gist is: if you sleep better, you breathe better, you move better, you look better, you feel better and isn''t that what it is all about? YES!

Sleep for Joy ? the Nutrition Side

Many of us who have trouble sleeping (whether it be falling asleep or staying asleep) turn to prescription drugs such as Ambien, Sonata, Valium, Xanax, and Restoril, or one of the many over-the-counter options such as Benadryl. Taking this route can be habit forming and this actually then inhibits the body from being able to establish its own sleep rhythm, according to Michael Sateia, M.D. and president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Unless you are suffering from a severe sleep disorder (anyone taking any form of major medication should be consulting with a medical physician) taking a more natural way can be a smarter and safer long-term option for your best health:

1) Tryptophan ? a naturally occurring amino acid that makes you sleepy. A tryptophan rich snack an hour before bed can promote sleep.

Try these:

? 2 slices of lean turkey
? a small slice of cheese
? pure (no sugar) yogurt
? a handful of sunflower seeds (high in Vitamin B that enhances the body''s conversion of tryptophan).

2) Magnesium ? a natural sedative. This powerful mineral can be found in:

? wheat bran
? brewer''s yeast
? seaweed products
? almonds
? cashews

3) Chamomile ? best taken through sipping a nice cup of chamomile tea an hour before bed. This will calm your digestive track and reduce muscle tightness. For a real knocker-outer add a few drops of a lavender tincture and a 1/2 a teaspoon of honey.

Sleep for Joy ? the Lifestyle Side

The way you use your bedroom can have a profound effect on your ability to get a good night''s sleep.

1. Recover your bed - If you use your bed (or even your bedroom for some people) for anything other than sleep you may be setting up a psychological barrier to a good night''s sleep. Get into bed only when you are really tired. Use another room or chair for reading and especially for watching television. If you live in a studio apartment or dorm room, try to separate your bed from other areas with a desk, curtain or screen.

2. Be dark - the brain associates daylight with being alert and active. Believe it or not, even the glow from a neon clock can translate into daylight for the mind (plus, is it really helpful to wake-up, see the time, calculate how much longer you have to sleep and then worry about it?). Cover your clock, close your curtains and wear a sleep mask if you need to.

3. Fresh air - no matter the season, fresh air is a necessity for a good nights sleep. A stuffy room can remind you of your day or keep your head from clearing. Open the window a crack for the night or wide for a minute before you go to sleep to clear the air.

To your health and success,

Heather Dominick is a Holistic Nutrition Counselor accredited by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners and creator of The Energy Rich Lifestyle Program?. In addition to her nutrition services, she is a motivating and dynamic speaker.

To receive bi-monthly Nutrition and Lifestyle Tips you can: subscribe to her free e-Newsletter at http://www.individual-health.net or register for a free teleclass at freeteleclass@individual-health.net', 190, 'Sleep for Joy, Nutrition, Nutrition articles, Nutrition information, about Nutrition, what is Nutrition, Nutrition Information', 'Sleep for Joy plus articles and information on Nutrition

Bathing Suit Season - A Nutritional Guide

Spring is in the air and ? summer is around the corner! I know a lot of people have been contacting me about getting themselves and their bodies ready for da-da- DUM ?BATHING SUIT SEASON.

For those of us who live in the more northern part of the country and did not go anywhere tropical during the last six months, this can be an intimidating time. Our skin (and everything underneath it) has been tucked away, protected and hidden beneath beautiful sweaters and warm scarves. Now it is time to let every part of you take a deep breath of summer sun. Here we go!

Bathing Suit Season ? a Nutritional Guide

Two important concepts to keep in mind when looking at your food in preparation for your summer self is 1) to start, try to love your body right where it is now 2) be willing to allow your food habits to change. Take into consideration that your body WANTS to change what it is eating. As mentioned in previous editions the springtime is the perfect time for the body to "go light". If you listen closely I bet you can hear your body asking for different food, lighter food, and less food. To allow yourself to make these changes follow these guidelines:

1) Do Not Skip Meals ?Eat small meals or snacks containing some PROTEIN every few hours to keep blood-sugar levels steady. Do not to let more than 3 hours go between eating. This will help keep your blood sugar stable and avoid ravenous hunger which often leads to overeating. Low blood sugar and extreme hunger are a dangerous combination.

2) Keep Healthy Snacks Around ? whether you like crunch, salt or sweet, take care and prep ahead to have some energy rich? food available for yourself. The worst type of pre-summer sabotage is stopping somewhere UNKNOWN for just A LITTLE SOMETHING to HOLD YOU OVER. Use some of these Healthy Snack Ideas or create your own.

Crunch ? lite popcorn, or plain popcorn popped in paper bag in microwave/ or use coconut oil to pop in a covered pan

? frozen grapes

? 1 ? 2 hard pretzels ? the large Bavarian variety

? apple

? carrots ? particularly the super sweet, organic baby carrots

Sweet

? organic carrots (category cross over on this one!)

? organic yogurt and over ripe fruit ? all kinds of flavors to enjoy ? fresh, whole fruit

? leftover grains ? (i.e. brown rice, quinoa, spelt) drizzle maple syrup and cinnamon; add soy milk and bananas, heat and enjoy warm oatmeal-like porridge, cook grains in fruit juice (i.e. apple),

? smoothies ? mix any of the following ? whatever you have in the kitchen: fruit, ice?soy milk, yogurt, protein powder, carob powder, fruit juice, etc?

Salty

? tortilla chips and fresh salsa ? try whole grain chips such as "Garden of Eatin" Brand in health food stores and try freshly made salsa vs. shelved and processed stuff.

? pickles

? fresh lime/lemon juice as seasonings or in beverage

3) Dandelion Greens ? That''s right. This pesky flower has leaves that are a magic component of winter weight loss. This common "weed" of the composite family is a powerful restorative to the liver. It''s also rich in minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, selenium and zinc, as well as vitamins B1, B2, B3,and C. Ounce for ounce, dandelion contains more carotene than carrots. Dandelion also cleanses the blood and liver (the organ most associated with Spring in Traditional Chinese Medicine), and increases bile production. Go clean to get lean!

4) Fruits - Fruits are cool and juicy, so they get you the water you need to stay hydrated and they also provide the vitamins and nutrients that fat-free snack foods don''t. Eating a lot of fruit does not work for everyone, but if you are a person who does well with fruit "Spring Lightening" can include eating a lot of fruits.

To your health and success, Heather

Heather Dominick is a Holistic Nutrition Counselor accredited by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners and creator of The Energy Rich Lifestyle Program?. In addition to her nutrition services, she is a motivating and dynamic speaker.

To receive bi-monthly Nutrition and Lifestyle Tips you can: subscribe to her free e-Newsletter at http://www.individual-health.net or register for a free teleclass at freeteleclass@individual-health.net', 190, 'Bathing Suit Season - A Nutritional Guide, Nutrition, Nutrition articles, Nutrition information, about Nutrition, what is Nutrition, Nutrition Information', 'Bathing Suit Season - A Nutritional Guide plus articles and information on Nutrition